TRANSCRIPT
- Germany mourns the victims of the attack on a Christmas market.
- New South Wales police investigate alleged Islamophobic attack in western Sydney.
- And in football, Kylian Mbappe adds to his scoring streak with Real Madrid.
----
Hundreds of people have gathered in the German city of Magdeburg to mourn the deaths of five people killed in a car attack on a Christmas market on Friday.
Over 200 people were injured, and a nine-year-old child was among those killed.
Authorities have identified the suspect as a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian citizen who has lived in Germany for over a decade.
He reportedly made anti-Islam statements on the social media platform X, in posts that have since been deleted.
Local resident Peter Heckle says he's still in shock.
"It's just so sad what happened here. It is all the more tragic now that it happened here in my hometown of Magdeburg. One would not have liked to imagine that under the worst circumstances, but unfortunately it cannot be changed now."
----
Authorities say the death toll from Cyclone Chido in northern Mozambique has climbed to 94 people, as damage assessments continue from the devastating storm.
Mozambique's National Institute of Disaster Management says most of the casualties occurred in the northern Cabo Delgado province, where 84 people have died and 740 were injured.
Another seven deaths and 24 injuries were recorded in Nampula province, while Niassa province in the northwest recorded three deaths and four injuries.
Cyclone Chido, which brought winds of up to 260 kilometres per hour and rainfall of 250 millimetres in just 24 hours, has affected around 622,000 people across at least five northern provinces.
----
New South Wales Police say they are investigating an alleged incident in which a woman wearing a pro-Palestine T-shirt was assaulted at a Kmart store in western Sydney.
The woman, who has been identified with the first name Mariam, alleges another woman at Kmart in Bankstown threw boxes at her and her 10-year-old daughter before launching into a verbal attack.
Mariam says she filmed the alleged incident, which has been condemned as Islamophobia, and the footage has been shared widely online.
"(I'm) completely frightened. She was very scary. Absolutely frightened. And I just wanted to protect my daughter and myself, and she had a lot of jingling happening, so wasn't sure what's coming next. So I was just very very calm, tried to make sure I contained, you known, the situation as best as possible, so that she can walk away without causing any harm."
The video shows a woman walking towards Mariam and giving her middle finger before she yells "Are you proud of wearing 'From the river to the sea?" — a pro-Palestinian chant that was written on the back of the T-Shirt Mariam says she was wearing at the time.
The phrase is considered by some Jewish communities as a call for the destruction of Israel, while Palestinians consider it a call for freedom.
----
Pope Francis has condemned Israeli airstrikes on Gaza during his annual Christmas address towards Catholic cardinals.
In book excerpts published last month, the Pope referenced international experts who claimed the events in Gaza have the "characteristics of a genocide".
In an annual Christmas address to the Catholic cardinals who lead the Vatican's various departments, the Pope says the killing of children in Gaza has "touched his heart".
"Yesterday children were bombed. This is cruelty. This is not war."
----
In football,
Kylian Mbappe has added to his scoring streak with a superb strike 10 minutes into a Spanish league match as Real Madrid beat Sevilla 4-2 to finish the year one point behind leaders Atletico Madrid.
Mbappe sent a right-footed shot into the upper corner for his fourth goal in as many matches with Madrid in all competitions.
Federico Valverde, Rodrygo and Brahim Díaz also scored in the comfortable home victory.
Atletico had rallied to shock Barcelona 2-1 on Saturday with a stoppage-time goal by Alexander Sorloth, and Real's victory has now left Barca third, two points behind their great rivals while having played an extra game.
